The Social Media Jersey – You only get ONE vote, use it wisely

It’s been an awesome journey to get to this point. Once again a huge thanks to everyone who has donated, tweeted, facebooked, YouTubed, podcasted, blogged, MySpaced, Friendstered, Craigslisted (is that even social media?) or whatevered this competition. It’s brilliant. Together we’ve already raised (at the time of writing) $2010 on the official count but of course, that’s going to change by the time you’re reading this.

I greatly encourage you to review the nominations before casting your vote because you only get one vote.

How the prizes will be awarded

So here’s how it all works. We’ve got one large (Mega)poll set up to cover all the prizes. This is to somewhat reflect the structure of a stage race. So think of the overall winner as the GC winner and the individual race prizes as the various jerseys. So here’s what we know we’ll be able to do for our races and prize winners so far:

The overall winner of the Unofficial, Unsanctioned Social Media Jersey will receive

$500USD (may vary depending on currency exchange rates and fees)

The Unofficial Unsanctioned Social Media t-shirt including the names and messages of the donors (as per their level of donation)

The Unofficial Unsanctioned Social Media certificate including the names of donors

The winner of each race will be deemed as the nominee with the most votes from that race (with the exception of the overall winner – i.e. no rider can win two prizes) and they will receive

A certificate as the Unofficial Unsanctioned Social Media winner for their respective races

The next 3 highest ranked riders from any race (excluding previous winners – i.e. no rider can win two prizes) will receive

$100USD each (may vary depending on currency exchange rates and fees)

It’s important to note that:

We can’t be more specific about the prize money breakdown yet, because we don’t know the full prize pot – and need to take into account transfer fees etc, but it’ll be a nice amount of money for the overall and race winners!

After all, one of our goals is to give away as much money as possible.

How to vote

It’s worth repeating that we’ve collated all the riders who have been nominated for the Jersey into two posts – one for the Giro Toscana, and one for both the Tour de l’Ardèche and the Brainwash Ladies Tour. As you only have one vote, please take time to peruse what’s on offer before you vote – and click through to the links to see photos, read blogs and see videos etc. – and vote for the rider you think has given the best social media. Remember, every click helps the riders and teams demonstrate to their sponsors that they’re worth supporting, so don’t feel you have to rush! Especially because…

Voting is open until midnight European time on 22nd September 2012 – and you vote using the Megapoll below. We’ve randomly generated the order that the names appear in so that (hopefully) no rider is unfairly disadvantaged by appearing further down the list. That’s right people, you really should read the nominations! Anyway, I’m pretty sure you’ve used an internet poll before so I won’t bother trying to explain the mechanics to you. If you haven’t, it’s pretty easy and I’m sure you’ll figure it out. 😉

We are huge fans of Bridie, but this competition was only for riders in the three UCI races – Tour de l’Ardèche, Brainwash Tour and Toscana. Next year we want to expand the Jersey to have a year-round comp, so more riders are eligible – but we kept it small this year…. it started with only 2 races, but we had no idea it would be this successful!

Marijn is winning not surprising as she is a prof. journalist. Lex seems to have big fanbase and Sara seems to be the unlucky third becuase despite having way more votes than number 4 she was in same race as Marijn en Lex and thus will receive a lower amounth than the best social media user of the Giro.

Well, we have over a week left for voting, so everything can change! And we’re hoping to give €100 Euros to the runners-up, so if she stays 3rd, Sara will still get a nice prize. 🙂

Lex has a LOT of fans, and is campaigning well – but, it’s important to remember that Marijn and Lex have all those fans, and therefore votes, *because* they’re so good at social media…. which is what we’re celebrating after all!

Lex IS the best at covering the exciting sport of cycling She truly loves what she does and is excited for anyone that cycles. Keep working hard and continue to love what you do. We’re so proud of you! Love Aunt B (proud member of the Albrecht Army)

Thanks Aunt B! So glad to see that you’re not letting any personal bias get in the way of your voting. 😉 Seriously though, thank you for joining us in this celebration of all things pro women’s cycling and social media. It’s very cool to get all these votes and donations.

Whoa! I’ve been travelling for the past two days and had thus missed the obvoius mountain that QOM Lex blasted up! Looks like a solo breakaway now. Methinks that she’ll even have a bit in reserve for the final sprint….

Well both those gold medals wrote an excellent series of tweets that just couldn’t be ignored and had to be nominated. 🙂 Emma’s done a great job and I’m more than happy to see the extended reach of social networks in action. It’s all in fun.

No support for both Trott girls is huge in GB, The Trotty army is massive, but at least its getting womens cycling spoke about, something which I know everyone wishes to raise the profile so talented women can earn some money from it!!

Ha, this is awesome! Thanks for the support and participation. For us it’s great to be able to show the unique interaction between women riders and their fans via social media. No need to apologise for anything, the beauty of social media is that it’s not even who you know, it’s the opportunity to get to know people you may never meet. It’s fantastic.

Also I hope, at least, some of those who follow Laura due to her Olympic success now follow Emma and perhaps have read and/or follow others listed here. Hey they may even go on to follow Women’s cycling in general. That would be a “Legacy” of this Jersey Comp.

That was part of the initial plan too, a chance to “discover” riders that we may not have already known. I’m personally thrilled that we got so many great nominees and am having a ball. The only thing that would make me happier would be if Jonathon Vaughters would take me up on my request for him to make a donation.

I understand that this is all in fun and began with an idea from cycling fans. They obviously have been inspired to do something in fun to honour these hard working women. Any of the women that stay in touch through social media should be recognized for speaking so positively of the sport and fellow cyclists. This fun, supportive idea just happens to let the big world know how much these dedicated women love what they do and happen to need a little help financially. Great to inspire the young girls in the world that they can do it, even though they may need a little help on the way. To the creators of the fun, the supporters and the women cyclists,thank you and good luck. I know I’m a fan. Aunt B

What a race! Now that I’m back in the office I’ve been able to watch the progress of the points accumulation. This is almost exciting as following a real race from afar. Better yet, there’s no risk of road rash for the participants!

Just a quick interjection, this is not aimed at anyone in particular but more a general statement. I’m making up a comment policy on the fly. The short version is play nice or else. So please let’s make sure we don’t antagonise others or accuse each other of uncharitable things. We’re here to have fun.

I know we all love “teh cyclings” so let’s stay positive. I will be a bastard with the comment approvals if I have to be. Please don’t make me be a bastard. I’ve spent such a long time developing my “nice guy, total pushover” persona.

I absolutely love reading all of Lex’s social media updates. From Nutella competitions to cycling competitions, she covers it all. Lex also participates in fundraising. She currently participates in WORLD BICYCLE RELIEF which is dedicated to providing access to independence and livelihood through the power of bicycles in Africa. See, Lex shares her love for, and the power of cycling in so many ways. She even inspired me to purchase a “sweet” new bike. I am a proud member of the “Albrecht Army” and proud of everything that Lex stands for. All the best to all of the women cyclists. You are all winners.

Less than 6 1/2 hours to go before the start of the 2012 Road Race Worlds. Just a a bit over 12 until the finish sprint to the end of the Social Media Jersey. Wow: A double-whammy, adrenalin-filled day! Good luck, ladies!!